It is not unusual for autism to be confused with other pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), such as Asperger's disorder or syndrome, or to have overlapping symptoms. Although autistic symptoms in children may lessen with age, autism is a lifelong disorder. Physicians use the term autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to describe people with mild symptoms, severe symptoms, or symptoms that fall anywhere in between.
Autism Signs and Symptoms
The diagnostic catalog of symptoms and behaviors characteristic with autism is long, and each affected person expresses his or her own combination of these behaviors.
These symptoms alone don't confirm a diagnosis of autism, but are taken into consideration when evaluating children. The listing of signs and symptoms stated in numerous resources for autism includes those presented below. It is valuable to pay attention to autism symptoms when suspecting that a child might be dealing with from the disorder. Doctors look for specific symptoms in communication and social impairments to diagnose autism. The symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a multiplicity of combinations, from mild to extensive. Some typical autism symptoms are presented and the intent is to provide a better understanding of the autistic disorder.
- social interaction impairment (poor eye-to-eye gazing, lack of social reciprocity, no peer relations)
- communication impairment (can't sustain a conversation, lack of spontaneous play, delay in development of language)
- repeating/stereotyped patterns of behavior (repetitive motor habits, pre-occupation with parts of objects , preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus, repeated hand or finger flapping or twisting, complex whole body movements, preoccupation with parts of objects)
Additional symptoms of autism include difficulty with verbal and nonverbal communication. There may be symptoms not related to autism, and this is certainly not intended to be an exhaustive list of symptoms.
Variability of Autism Symptoms
Due to autism's variety, its symptoms seem best understood when given descriptively and with specific examples. In addition, signs and symptoms of Autism might vary on an individual basis for each patient. Children with Autism symptoms moreover vary a good deal in their mental abilities as well as their communicative skills. Autism symptoms can range from mild to severe and differ in intensity from symptom to symptom. Children with autism may exhibit a wide range of symptoms, which range in severity from mild to disabling. Autism is sometimes coupled with retardation, which makes most teaching techniques ineffective. While the symptoms of autism may vary greatly from person to person, there is no one 'best' treatment which is able to help everyone.
Autism and Asperger's Syndrome
Asperger's syndrome is a condition of autism where language and aptitude are ordinary and autistic symptoms present later in childhood. What distinguishes Asperger's Syndrome from autism is the severity of the symptoms and the absence of language delays. Cognitive symptoms and social symptoms need to be looked through together as central features of both autism and Asperger's syndrome. Asperger syndrome and autism are quite similar in behavioral symptoms.
Severity of Symptoms
Clinical accounts suggest that conditions resembling autism do not vary just in terms of severity, but also in pattern of symptoms. As it varies widely in its severity and symptoms, autism could go unrecognized, particularly in mildly affected persons or in individuals with multiple handicaps. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), people with autism have normal life expectancies and can lead average or near-normal lives, depending on the severity of their symptoms. There is a range of severity in autism symptoms, and for this reason the term “autism spectrum disorders” is frequently used. Children with autism may have various behaviors and abilities because of the severity of their symptoms.
Diagnosis
Just your doctor can submit a sufficient amount of diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed autism symptoms. He or she can help to determine whether the symptoms are caused by autism, a linked disorder, or a different condition. The diagnosis of Autistic Disorder consists of a total of at least six observational items from social impairment, communication impairment and behavior impairment categories outlined (see list) with at least two from social impairment, and one each from communication impairment and behavior impairment. Diagnosis of autism could be hard, because the condition varies widely in terms of its symptoms and degree of severity. The diagnosis of autism is verified by the appearance or absence of a cluster of behavioral symptoms using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).
A few children exhibited symptoms of autism in their first-year birthday video, for instance less frequent use of words or babbling. Additional autistic children who behaved typically at age 1, appeared to regress and showed typical symptoms of autism by age 2. Because the symptoms of autism can differ greatly from person to person, there is no one 'best' treatment which will help everyone. Children with autism may exhibit mild, moderate or severe symptoms in three areas (social, communication and behavior).
Conclusion - Autism Treatment
Over the years, a variety of interventions have shown promise for improving symptoms of autism in specific children. Professionals think that early intervention is significant in addressing the symptoms characteristic of autism. Children do not "outgrow" autism but symptoms may diminish as the child develops and receives treatment. Some children in treatment programs lose sufficient of their most disabling autism symptoms to function reasonably well in a conventional classroom. In 1996, a young boy with autism was supplied secretin for an endoscopy and exhibited improvements in a few of his symptoms of autism. Some have noted the improvement of autism symptoms to treatment with vancomycin. There are a multitude of different medications that are prescribed to treat the symptoms of autism. It has been reported that there are no well-established medications to treat core symptoms of autism. Medications used to treat anxiety and depression are being explored as a way to diminish certain autism symptoms. Atypical neuroleptics look to be promising agents to treat behavioral symptoms frequently cropping up among autism patients.
|
